2304_TOOTS
renovation of a school and transformation of the courtyards
- Location :
- Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Brussels
- Client :
- Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles Enseignement
- Team :
- AgwA
- Subcontractors :
- JZH & Partners - ASM Acoustics
- Planning :
- 2023
- Category :
- Ongoing
The Athénée Toots Thielemans refurbishment project involves a series of local interventions. In addition to resolving these multiple “micro-projects”, the challenge lies in developing an architectural approach that federates them to give them a transversal coherence. In the approach developed here, we propose interventions conceived “with” the existing, taking into consideration its characteristics. Here, the entire architecture of the site contributes to a common identity, which is expressed across the ages. On the one side, the courtyards are the subject of a new landscape design; on the other, the buildings are the subject of a new architectural approach.
The proposed interventions for the building (façade openings, new entrances) are characterized by a simple language in the continuity of the existing architecture. Slim columns replace the wide brick mullions, giving identity to the entrances and openings. These columns are integrated into the existing composition, ensuring the overall coherence of the project. Based on this principle, the interventions are declined to form new bays, an entrance portal or other devices that will naturally form part of a family of structures, linked by their materiality, the play of colors and constructive details. Rather than a large-scale intervention, these small interventions form a thread that reveals and highlights the brick architecture.
The courtyards are sequenced into quiet, active tree-lined spaces, linked to the public spaces, and form a chain of outdoor spaces stretching from rue Sainte-Marie and Comte de Flandre station to the Saint-Jean-Baptiste forecourt. Gently sloping tiers lead down to the refectory, which is now accessible from the ground floor. The tiers form a small open-air theater. It will be an asset for both school and non-school activities, and forms a natural “quiet zone” in the courtyard. The refectory has a large bay and generous access. The sports hall is now accessible via an external staircase that can be used as a seating area. It gives direct access to the sports hall and workshops via an interior hall running along the façade, making all spaces highly versatile and complementary. In addition, the renovation of the educational store and of its storefront window on the street will open up the school to the Rue Comte de Flandres, integrating it into the local community.
The project also includes the school's energetic renovation, which will be approached from two angles: insulating the roofs and replacing the windows.
(Extracts from the Competition Proposal)
The proposed interventions for the building (façade openings, new entrances) are characterized by a simple language in the continuity of the existing architecture. Slim columns replace the wide brick mullions, giving identity to the entrances and openings. These columns are integrated into the existing composition, ensuring the overall coherence of the project. Based on this principle, the interventions are declined to form new bays, an entrance portal or other devices that will naturally form part of a family of structures, linked by their materiality, the play of colors and constructive details. Rather than a large-scale intervention, these small interventions form a thread that reveals and highlights the brick architecture.
The courtyards are sequenced into quiet, active tree-lined spaces, linked to the public spaces, and form a chain of outdoor spaces stretching from rue Sainte-Marie and Comte de Flandre station to the Saint-Jean-Baptiste forecourt. Gently sloping tiers lead down to the refectory, which is now accessible from the ground floor. The tiers form a small open-air theater. It will be an asset for both school and non-school activities, and forms a natural “quiet zone” in the courtyard. The refectory has a large bay and generous access. The sports hall is now accessible via an external staircase that can be used as a seating area. It gives direct access to the sports hall and workshops via an interior hall running along the façade, making all spaces highly versatile and complementary. In addition, the renovation of the educational store and of its storefront window on the street will open up the school to the Rue Comte de Flandres, integrating it into the local community.
The project also includes the school's energetic renovation, which will be approached from two angles: insulating the roofs and replacing the windows.
(Extracts from the Competition Proposal)
